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Friday, June 2, 2017

No-Bake Golden Crunch Bars

Fun fact - Rice Krispies are called Rice Bubbles in Australia. It took me a while to convert to the American name for them, but it happened, and my girls just grew up knowing them as both and translating for their friends when necessary.
Now I love Rice Krispie Treats as much as the next person, but I love that this is a variation of them that uses one of my favorite ingredients, Golden Syrup. If you are not familiar with this ingredient it is a thick amber-colored sugary syrup made from sugar cane juice. The most familiar brand is probably Lyle's Golden Syrup, and it is available in the United States at stores like Whole Foods, World Market, and also Amazon. My favorite brand is the one I grew up with, CSR Golden Syrup from Australia, because it has more of a burnt sugar-toffee flavor. Unfortunately it is very expensive to buy outside of Australia. I encourage you to try and find it because it is delicious, but if you can't then I would suggest you substitute a dark honey or possibly treacle.

You will not believe how quick and easy these are to pull together. I spent more time cleaning up afterwards than I did making these bars. They would be a great recipe to make with the little ones over the summer. Just be careful as they golden syrup mixture is hot when you add it to the Rice Krispies, so don't let little hands touch the mixture to press it into the pan. You can see from the picture above that I used a muddler, but if you have a meat press that would be good for them to use or even a plastic cup.

The original recipe called for smooth peanut butter, but I prefer crunchy, so that is what I used. Of course either would work well in the recipe, as would other nut butters. Also, I think that the sugar could easily be cut back to half of the amount stated in the recipe, with no affect on the final product. Next time I make these I may also add some chocolate chips to the Rice Krispie mix, rather than putting chocolate on the top.